Introducing the new Turbo Algae Scrubber! (Rev 4)

Some more pictures










Slot pipe is formed to fit into cutout on Growth Chamber so it doesn't rotate. Velcro added for vibration isolation.



The slot pipe come without fittings bonded to it, so you may configure it for the direction of the water source and the connection fittings. A thread/thread union is included as well as a slip/thread straight adapter and elbow adapter, a thread/barb straight adapter and elbow adapter, and an end cap. A slip/slip union is not included. It is important to note that in order to bond fittings to the slot pipe, you must use transition cement (green type) and you must not apply primer to the ABS slot pipe.

Example configurations

 

Plastic parts and light fixtures (not completed in this pic)



The growth chamber is made of clear polycarbonate and it almost completely indestructible. It has guides molded in for the false bottom (shown in pic above) as well as a barrier separating the main area of the Growth Chamber from the Emergency Drain section. I will also be producing snap-on extensions to this barrier for enhancing 3D growth. The seal extensions have glands (grooves) for holding a total of 4 heavy duty o-rings (3/16" diameter cross section) which provides a dual seal on each drain to ensure no leaking past the seal. The dual o-rings also serve to keep the growth chamber positioned straight up and down within the base for a perfect fit, every time. A small tube of silicone grease (reef safe) is included.

The bottom of the main section of the Growth Chamber has a draft to it, so that when you shut off the water flow in preparation for cleaning/harvest, the water will not pool on the bottom and then pour out as you maneuver the Growth Chamber out of your sump area. This means you don't have to worry quite so much about holding your hand under that drain extension.



In the above 2 pics you will notice there is a strip of velcro attached to the ends of the Growth Chamber as well as to the inside of the End Cover Plates. This is due to one of those "well, that' didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped" type of things: the End Cover Plates don't lock into the Heat Sink Groove in the base and at the top of the J-channel just quite right. To fix that, I am having this part redone with an offset tab to grab the edge of the J-Channel. Everyone will receive this replacement part when it is ready. Until then, the velcro works to hold the End Cover Plate in position and it is not difficult to remove and replace.

Here is the underside of the Base - it has ribbing added for structural support against flexing. The ABS may be drilled to secure it to support braces with, for instance, zip ties or nylon thumbscrews.



The base with J-channels bonded in place (comes assembled) showing the Growth Chamber removal access hole. Generally this is not needed, but if you forget to keep the o-rings lubricated or a suction develops between the o-ring seal sections, you might have a little trouble getting it to initially release. Placing your thumb on the edge of the base and pushing up on the growth chamber from below easily breaks the seal so the growth chamber can be lifted up and slid out the end



The pipe extensions match 2" PVC pipe dimensions. Included are (2) 2" x 1.5" slip/slip adapters which can be friction fit or solvent welded (again, using transition cement with no primer applied to ABS Base)



The emergency drain (on end) only need a section of 1.5" pipe extending down to the water level below the unit (just above or no more than 0.5-1" below the water surface). The primary (center) drain will have a valve (not shown) and a detachable bubble blocker. In the past, I used a filter sock hung from the drain handle but this doesn't work extremely well, so I came up with this simple method using a 2" coupler with tapped holes for thumbscrews and a drawstring filter sock (all included)





You cut the pipe to length such that the end of the 1.5" pipe is below the water surface (at least 0.5" but not more than 1" - so that it pulls a siphon) then you tune the drain to a full siphon (outflow matches inflow) in order to silence the unit and reduce bubbles (bubbles will be reduced significantly as the screen matures). Then you slide the bubble blocker over the drain and tighten the thumbscrews and cinch the filter bag over the adapter. You can pre-tie the bag so that it slips over the thumbscrews wit little effort, but it won't fall off on it's own.

There are tons of little details put into this design and I'm sure I'm forgetting many of them!

 

A little clarification about the bubble blocker:

The primary purpose of the filter sock is not to actually filter, it is just there to help control bubbles from flying around the sump (or tank). Filter socks will trap microscopic baby copepods that fall off the screen, you want these to stay in your tank...so I recommend installing the sock slightly below the water level. Alternatively, you can use it as a filter sock by cinching the bag higher up on the drain. The 2" coupler with thumbscrews creates a gap for water to freely flow out of the bubble blocker at or near the water surface, where the bubble will have more likelyhood of rising to the surface vs getting caught up in the flow towards the return pump.

At first, with a new screen, bubbles are just flat out hard to control because water falls freely across the screen and entrains air along the way - there is just no good way to prevent this without running all the flow through the filter sock (which is fine to do at first to prevent this - just cinch the sock up higher, around the pipe). But as algae grows and the screen matures, the bubbles will almost completely disappear by controlling the drain with a valve (tuned siphon). I run 3 scrubbers without any filter socks or bubble blockers, and one turns nearly 3000 GPH with a 6" sump water operating level.

 

Another uber high quality video (sarcasm)...You'll just have to take my word for it that I actually know how to make a halfway decent product video. Now just isn't the time for that!!

 

I revised this statement below to add L8 and L16 into the offer, and clarify the details a bit, any revisions/updates will be kept up to date here:

https://support.turbosaquatics.com/...cles/special-offer-for-l4-l8-and-l16-waitlist

 

I edited the prior post about this offer and placed it on my support site so that I could keep it updated and reference people to it. Just FYI

 

Some installation pics from my customers:

(light fixtures are upside-down, but he corrected that!!)


Nice DIY mounting bracket using PVC pipe




A view inside the Growth Chamber done be removing the End Cover Plate (viewport to see growth progression)


Here's one using some aluminum extrusion bars


Some nice 3D printed brackets!

 

Got my shipment of 100 LED and 50 Driver boards from Steve's LEDs today (Friday)! They were quite backed up, plus a temporary machine failure didn't help, but they came through just in time!!



Plus a batch of 3D printed potentiometer enclosures, also by Steve's (nice quality!!)







Some potentiometers, knobs (I like the black ones!) and Controller Interface boards (these work to allow Apex and ReefKeepers to control the driver boards directly)



While I've been waiting for those, I've been working on getting everything else ready...

Bases with J-channels bonded in



Heat sinks drilled and ready for the next 50 units



Plenty more where those came from, plus a whole pallet I haven't cracked



Slot pipes prepped



Screens soaking (more already soaked, not shown)



...it's gonna be a busy weekend. On schedule to ship 25 units next week, and 25 more the week after!

 

Well this week took an unexpected turn. Most of those who have paid & waiting know but just in case I missed someone, I'm siting here in pre-op with my family waiting for my Dad (75) to go in for a quadruple bypass after he had a "heart attack" on Tuesday. The air quotes are because he was golfing Tuesday and he bent over on the first tee to place the ball & felt some chest tightness & dizziness, which passed...finished all 18 holes (shot 100, which is good for him, for first game of the year) then went to get checked out and they found a this

So, slight pause in production, even though I did bring a bunch of parts with me to work on....

 

Yes, I got back home today. He was out of ICU less than 18 hours after surgery. Recovery is going very well, a few bumps but nothing serious. Long couple days for everyone!

 

UPDATE: L4, L8 and L16 are planned for release in Mid-July. This is pending verification of all final parts (should be done by 6/30/16).

>> CLICK HERE FOR PRICING AND WAITING LIST INFORMATION ON ALL SIZE UNITS <<

Introductory pricing offer for larger units will continue until JULY 15th! Just contact me to get on the waiting list!

To get on the list, open a support ticket by following the instructions here: Turbo's Aquatics - Ordering

^^ this is just as simple as sending me an email, which is listed on that page. You can provide your other information later if you want!

 

I thoroughly bench-tested the Rev 4 L2 before rolling it out, and then I took care of my waitlist customers first before swapping out my own scrubber.

About 18 days ago I finally retired my trusty Rev 1 L2 and installed a Rev 4 L2 with a brand new mortar screen, unseeded. Just cleaned it tonight. Now excuse me while I break my arm patting myself on the back, but this is the fastest I've ever had a screen take off, and I've replaced the screen a few times on this tank. Looking back...I kinda wish I had put myself first in line. But, I had a functioning scrubber and a line of people doing without! Life keeps me pretty busy and this year had been no exception...probably my busiest time ever in my life, on all levels.

Anyways, here's my first cleaning - 4 parts, I just dumped it off my phone and uploaded it straight up so forgive the quality. I tend to take pics and video then never get around to uploading them, smh. Anyways, check out the growth!

1 of 4


The rest are uploading...watch for them on my YouTube channel Bud Carlson I'll post them up tomorrow...

 

2 of 4


3 of 4


4 of 4

 

All the parts for the larger units are FINALLY en route to me!

Now for something different - revised Support Rails! Previously I made these out of acrylic, by hand, to order. Kind of time-consuming. After a few rounds of attempts at an extruded bracket (one of which was an EPIC failure...) I came up with this design







This is extruded PVC - the production version will be black. The original idea was to make this one part of a 2-piece bracket - the second piece being a 3/4" wide piece of 3/8" thick acrylic, slid through the hole, that could span over the top of a sump - and then the PVC part would serve as an I-beam underneath it and anyone could just cut it to fit between the inner edges of their sump rim. This can still be done, but it's actually not necessary...

All you need to do it cut off the "T" braces underneath and let the "tube" section extend over the lip of your sump. You can also notch a section out with a hacksaw or coping saw and have a section that overhangs the lip of your sump. Or, you can drill it and insert a thumbscrew, you can bond something to it, etc. Very versatile. If you wanted to secure your scrubber to these, you can drill a hole in the ABS Base of a Turbo Algae Scrubber, then drill a pilot hole in the Rail, and screw it right down to the rail with a standard screw (Stainless Steel recommended).

If you wanted extra strength, there is probably an aluminum extrusion or steel bar that could be slid into the hole as well.

But...they're pretty strong all by themselves...which was what I was going for!!

48" Rails, ~36" Span: 0 lb



40 lb



80 lb



These will be available soon:

For up to 24" length Rails, $30 for a set of 2, shipped (with or without scrubber purchase)
For between 24" and 36" length Rails, $40 for a set of 2, shipped (because it requires a larger and usually separate shipping tube)

I can ship these internationally as a stand-alone item, but the shipping is a killer...just FYI.

These will work for sure for the L2 and L4, very likely to work for the L8 (I need to test a few configurations still). They may not be stable enough for the L16 - I still need to thoroughly test this (the sample parts I have been working with are not 100% functional so I only have limited "data")

 

At long last, my shipment of L4 / L8 / L16 parts finally arrived this morning!! (the injection parts)

I don't have any pictures as I had to jet in, check the parts, and jet back out.

Calendar is clear for the 3-day weekend. The first batch of units will ship on Tuesday!

Also, in case anyone will be at MACNA in San Diego next weekend, you will be able to see an L2, L4 and likely an L8 on display at the Synergy Reef Systems Booth #735!

 

First Look at the L4

 

Well.....I WANTED to ship a bunch of L4s and L8s this week...Dang where does the time go. Oh yeah...
Monday, finish up one L4 to ship (done)



L4 Mortar Screen



Tuesday, wife at class, pick kid up from soccer, get dinner, mow lawn (with headlights on, in dark), take shower, crash
Wednesday, early AM site inspection, drive 3 hours for a pre-bid walkthrough then 3 hours back, home at 8:30, eat, crash
Today, get up at 5am and work on first L8 to ship, work, then probably some homecoming stuff (parade tonight), finish L8 for shipping tomorrow
Tomorrow, pick up kid at soccer practice and take to football practice, then he will want to go to HC FB game I'm sure, night shot, so there'll be no squeezing another unit out by the FedEx cutoff.

Saturday, 9am soccer game, 10am FB pics, 11am FB game, the rest of the day is open
Sunday looks open too...
So it looks like the big shipping day will be Monday

More are indeed on the way, mostly built, but per the above...now shipped yet

Here are some growth chambers


L2 harvest recently


In "Upgrade and Fun New Goodies" news.....

Monogrammed 'Lil Chislers! These will be going out to all existing customers!


Also I have revised the End Cover Plates so that there are offset tabs that "grab" better

The previous ones use Velcro to hold them in place, that was a temporary fix...this is the replacement, and these will be going out to all Rev 4 customers!

And lastly, I have revised the Drain Valve system! The new valve is not inside the drain pipe, so you can make a mistake cutting the pipe and not be hosed. It is also possible to configure this valve so that it can be adjusted remotely; meaning, if you don't have access under the scrubber to adjust the valve after it's installed, this solves your problem! It's also more effective (some had issues with the original one). Also, as some of you have discovered, the nylon thumbscrew swells up a bit over time and binds inside the threaded hole in the PVC drain pipe...rendering it stuck in position, and thus, useless. So, that's gone also (the thumbscrew)

Busy busy...